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An African Solution to Internal Displacement:AU Leaders Agree to Landmark Convention
Meeting at a Special Summit of the African Union in Kampala, Uganda on 22-23 October 2009,African heads of state and government have undertaken significant commitments to solve one of thecontinent’s [and the world’s] most pressing humanitarian crises—the displacement of an estimated11.6 million men, women, and children within the borders of their own countries. Thesecommitments are reflected in the adoption of the first instrument to legally bind an entire region onmatters of internal displacement.By placing their signatures on the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of InternallyDisplaced Persons in Africa, these leaders affirmed the leading role and responsibility of their national governments in protecting and assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs) and preventingsituations of internal displacement in the region as well as within their individual countries byaddressing the phenomenon’s root causes.Decades of recurrent armed conflict, combined with natural disasters and the effects of climatechange, have given rise to sizable populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout theregion. Although the total number of individuals currently suffering from internal displacement inAfrica is the lowest in a decade, there is still a greater number of IDPs in this region than in any other in the world.Three of the world’s top five countries with the largest populations of conflict-induced IDPs are inAfrica; Sudan, with an estimated 4.9 million IDPs, tops the list. In addition, populations of internallydisplaced persons numbering over 1 million can currently be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia as well. Hundreds of thousands of IDPs can also be found in Cote d’Ivoire,Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Overall, at least 20 African states are currentlyexperiencing the internal displacement of their citizens.The lives of these IDPs and others like them elsewhere around the world that have been forced fromtheir homes and arbitrarily displaced within their own countries are fundamentally transformed andshattered by their displacement. Displacement not only violates an individual’s dignity but can alsoamount to a violation of their human rights, including
inter alia
their rights to life, shelter, food, anadequate standard of living, property, equality, and non-discrimination. It also often exposes the mostvulnerable among them, women and children in particular, to illness, destitution, exploitation,gender-based violence, and forcible recruitment into armed groups.The African leaders who endorsed the Convention in Kampala have explicitly recognized the link  between promoting peace, security, and development on the continent and the need to mitigate the plight of those forced to flee their homes and communities because of armed conflict, human rightsabuses, and other threats, including natural disasters. In contrast to refugees, who cross aninternationally recognized boundary, IDPs are not protected under international law and often fallthrough the protection gap at the domestic level. Many can remain in limbo, marginalized, andvulnerable to human rights violations for extended periods.
 
The Convention demonstrates the commitment of African governments to protect the fundamentalrights and freedoms of internally displaced persons, facilitate durable solutions to displacement, andensure that millions of people are no longer excluded from society as a whole. In this sense, theConvention contributes to Africa’s overall security and development architecture in addition toserving as the centerpiece of regional responses to displacement.
Strengthening the Protection Framework: The AU Contribution to the Law of InternalDisplacement
The new IDP Convention makes a significant contribution to the law of internal displacement. Itsadoption at the Kampala Summit represents the culmination of a five-year, African-led process of consultations, drafting, and negotiations that can be traced to a July 2004 decision of the AfricanUnion’s Executive Council that IDPs in Africa should be provided with an adequate framework atthe regional level for protection and assistance.What emerged from this process is a legally binding instrument for all of Africa, one that referencesand simultaneously reinforces existing international standards for protecting the human rights of IDPs established by the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. By doing so, the Conventionhas contributed to the Principles’ universal authority and their evolution from “soft law” to “hardstandards.” It can also serve as a model instrument for other regions and individual countriesexperiencing internal displacement to consider adapting to their own conditions.Among its many provisions, the Convention affirms the panoply of rights enjoyed by IDPs under human rights and humanitarian law, including the right of all persons to be protected from arbitrarydisplacement and the right of those displaced to seek protection and assistance. However, as a protection instrument, the Convention is focused first and foremost on elaborating the obligations of States parties during all phases of internal displacement—from prevention through protection of individuals during displacement and efforts to facilitate their sustainable return, local integration, or relocation.In addition to categorically prohibiting displacement and its use as a means of warfare, i.e. ethniccleansing, the Convention requires States parties to criminalize acts of arbitrary displacement. Notably, national authorities bound by the Convention are also obliged to ensure that individualswho commit acts of arbitrary displacement are held responsible for these acts. This obligationextends to holding non-state actors, such as insurgencies and rebel groups, private militarycontractors, and multinational corporations, accountable for arbitrary displacement.In the same vein, the Convention requires armed groups that are distinct from those of the state to protect and assist internally displaced persons in areas under their effective control. Moreover, armedgroups—like formal States parties to the Convention—are called upon to provide humanitarianorganizations with access to the displaced and facilitate the delivery of relief supplies to those inneed. Assistance to local communities that host internally displaced persons is also called for by theConvention.The Convention’s Signatories have stipulated to a number of concrete measures to be taken at thenational level in order to prevent displacement and protect and assist those who are arbitrarily
 
displaced. These range from complying with international human rights and humanitarian law todeveloping early warning and disaster management systems.Signatories to the Convention have also agreed to designate institutional focal points on internaldisplacement in each of their countries to facilitate coordination among relevant governmentagencies and with local and international partners. The Conventional also obliges governments to provide compensation and other reparations to remedy the harm suffered by persons as a result of their displacement.Together, these measures will go a long way toward fulfilling each State party’s nationalresponsibility to address internal displacement and respond to the needs of those displaced.Combined with provisions calling for cooperation among States parties and with internationalorganizations, humanitarian agencies, and civil society organizations to protect IDPs, the Conventionis a potentially effective instrument No international treaty is perfect, and the AU IDP Convention does have a few weaknesses.Concerns over the lack of effective enforcement mechanisms and insufficient guarantees for equalityand non-discrimination have been raised. Similarly, there is some question regarding the extent towhich non-state actors and armed groups called upon by the Convention to protect IDPs can be bound by its provisions. Nevertheless, the Convention, which has benefited from the input of international experts, is considered to be generally consistent with international standards such as theGuiding Principles on Internal Displacement.The task ahead for the Signatories and the Convention’s supporters is to implement its provisions in atimely fashion and in a manner that makes a real difference to the lives of persons affected byinternal displacement in the region, including host communities.
Ratification and Implementation: From Paper to Concrete Protections
The first step forward should involve a process of national dialogue and civic education aimed atsecuring the Convention’s ratification and implementation by the States parties. This process can provide a good opportunity for all stakeholders at the national level to carefully review and consider the nature and scope of the rights and obligations set forth in the Convention.The role of civil society and national human rights institutions will be key to transforming thecommitments made by those who gathered in Kampala into concrete protections for the internallydisplaced. These actors, which include law societies, faith-based organizations, civic associations,and IDPs themselves, can play important roles in promoting greater awareness about the Convention,advocating for its ratification, and working on implementation issues. Their participation in thedrafting of implementing legislation required by the Convention will be of particular importance.In addition to providing legal and humanitarian assistance to IDPs directly and advocating on their  behalf, civil society will also be able to provide national authorities with additional capacity andexpertise to carry out reforms that are necessary to implement the Convention This includes assistingin efforts to facilitate property dispute resolution, strengthening political participation, supporting
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